No Free Cheese, No Price Hike

 

Saizeriya is a popular inexpensive family restaurant chain in Japan. I always have to smile when I hear the name. When I first moved to Shizuoka, one of my students told me that he and his family had gone to the restaurant to eat. This was the first I had heard of the restaurant and to my English brain, I thought he was saying "Size Area".  I thought it was a strange name for a restaurant in Japan. I soon found out the real name of the place.  

Saizeriya has offered olive oil, grated cheese, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and other condiments free of charge in its restaurants. Recently, the price of cheese, as well as many other items, has gone up. In April, the restaurant forecast its profits would decrease by 26% in the following three months. In an effort not to raise prices, the restaurant has decided to eliminate the free cheese. 

I expect many restaurants are dealing with decreased profits due to increased food costs. I think eliminating the free cheese is a reasonable thing to do to avoid raising prices. What do you think?  Have you heard of this happening in other restaurants?